The first semi-final between Australia and West Indies took place at Antigua, with a big home crowd cheering on their side as the battle for a place in the final on Sunday at midnight (GMT time) began with Australia batting first.

With this game showing the number one side in Australia take on the reigning Women’s T20 champions, it was set up perfectly for a thriller. However, the only team to be thrilled by this one was Australia, as they played their best cricket of the tournament, hitting that form at the perfect time, as they defeated the West Indies by 71 runs.

Recovering from a concussion suffered in the last game, Alyssa Healy opened the batting for Australia and was once again the key player in this match, scoring a crucial 46 from 38 deliveries.

On top of Healy’s big score, three Australian’s scored double figures. Meg Lanning was the next best with 31 from 39 balls, while Ashleigh Gardner hit 14 from 10 and Rachael Haynes provided some middle order power with 25 from 14.

Australia proceeded to post a very good score of 5/142 from their 20 overs on a tacky, difficult wicket at Antigua.

The five wickets that were taken were shared around between the West Indies bowlers, with five out of the six used grabbing a wicket each. The experienced Stafanie Taylor was the pick of the bunch for the hosts, taking 1/20 off her four overs.

It was going to be a tough chase on a tough wicket, but the West Indies would have been confident with their dangerous batting line-up. However, it was the Australian’s, in particular, Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner who did the damage.

Perry took an impressive 2/2, including a maiden, from the two overs she bowled. Gardner was the best out of the bowlers who used their allocated four overs, taking 2/15 at an economy rate of 3.75.

Only captain Taylor, carrying on from her decent bowling, was able to reach double figures for the West Indies, hitting 16 from 28. The fact she had a strike rate of 57.14 but was the hosts’ highest scorer showed how lifeless the pitch was for the batting side, as the West Indies were bowled out for just 71 as Australia romped through to the Women’s World T20 Final for 2018.